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Character of George Costanza from TV series 'Seinfeld'
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From Pivot Magazine

The most outlandish recent shams and scams

A round-up of frauds, including a Seinfeld-inspired scheme and a fooled X Factor winner

Character of George Costanza from TV series 'Seinfeld' Vandelay Industries, the fake business that Seinfeld character George Costanza invented, inspired Vandalee Industries—a name of one of several fictional companies concocted by three Nova Scotia sisters and their mother to allegedly defraud the CRA (Getty)

$130,296

Restitution that B.C. widower Miroslaw Moscipan must pay to the Vancouver General Hospital because his late wife, a hospital administrator who died of cancer in 2012, defrauded the institution of more than half a million dollars. She allegedly stole an additional $677,000 from the University of British Columbia. Moscipan told the court he had thought his father-in-law, not fraud, was providing his wife’s suspicious windfalls.

CBD OIL

One of the cannabis-related products promoted in a newsletter and series of fake blogs that a hacker posted to the U.S.-based CPA ­Consultants’ Alliance website in February. The ­organization believes the hacker gained access to the site by guessing a member’s password.

VANDALEE INDUSTRIES

The name of one of several fictional companies concocted by three Nova Scotia sisters and their mother to allegedly defraud the CRA of $3.6 million through GST/HST scams. The name references Vandelay Industries, the fake latex business that Seinfeld character George Costanza infamously invents to con his way into receiving unemployment insurance.

340 KM/H

Top speed of the McLaren 12C, one of several sports cars that 42-year-old CFO Peter Ramdath bought with the $4 million he allegedly stole from his employer, R. Litz and Sons Co., a crane company in Winnipeg. He faces multiple charges (that have not been proven in court) for the alleged con, which reportedly funded his wedding and nights out in Las Vegas, and eventually forced the business to declare bankruptcy.

78%

Increase in major fraud cases that appeared before U.K. courts in 2018, compared to 2017. KPMG’s Fraud Barometer team says high-tech scams and internal fraud are behind the spike.

“IT’S AN AWFUL THING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHEN YOUR LOVED ONE HAS JUST PASSED AWAY”

Edmonton Police Service detective Liam Watson’s statement about scammers who have recently used personal information from obituaries to commit identity fraud. The department recommends families exclude birthdays, employment histories and addresses from their loved ones’ obituaries.

ETHICAL TRADING AND MARKETING LTD.

The name of a phoney philanthropic organization that purported to invest its wealthy clients’ money in HIV research and tree planting in the Amazon. U.K. courts sentenced the company’s two kingpins to a total of 14 years in prison when investigators exposed it as a tax-avoidance scheme.

£599,000

Amount that James Arthur’s accountant stole from the British pop star, who won The X Factor in 2012 and is currently signed to Simon Cowell’s record label.